With Dreadful Slaughter

The events of the 1798 Rebellion are still very much all around us. In many ways, the Rebellion, its campaign and aftermath, set the tone for political relations on the island of Ireland for centuries to come. It has been seen as a formative event in the creation of the Irish Republic and has been used as a ‘rallying cry’ within nationalism – and a ‘cautionary tale’ within unionism – ever since.

Yet, it was so much more than this. It was a seemingly localised insurrection, but it came at a perilous time when Britain seemed almost alone in combating the ideals and war aims of Revolutionary France. The danger of an independent republican Ireland on its doorstep, spreading radicalism across the British landscape, became obviously apparent as similar organisations (such as the United Englishmen and United Scotsmen) appeared. Consequently, the 1798 Rebellion is a vitally important campaign, not only in an Irish national context but from a pluralistic British perspective as well.

Whilst the actual rebellion was brutal and short, it had long-lasting repercussions. For some involved, their campaign ended in transportation to the colonies or on scaffolds, whilst others found themselves in redcoats, fighting alongside their former enemies – or in other nation’s armies continuing their own personal war.

Using exciting and gripping primary sources and accounts, combined with existing archaeological and topographical evidence, With Deadly Slaughter hopes to place a fresh perspective on, as Thomas Paine called it, the ‘...times that try men's souls’.